Olathe East hands Basehor boys first loss

The Basehor-Linwood boys suffered their first setback of the season with a 62-48 loss to Olathe East on Friday at the Emporia Invitational.

In the process, Olathe East showed Basehor-Linwood a different speed of basketball to play at this season.

The Hawks, a ranked Class 6A program, played a faster game of basketball than the Bobcats were used to, enabling them to jump out to a 12-3 lead.

On the run, Olathe East sank three consecutive 3-pointers.

“The speed at the beginning of the game threw us off a little bit, but if we play at that speed the rest of the year, we will be where we want to be,” coach Mike McBride said. “I was very pleased. We did an excellent job of getting better throughout the game. Playing that speed makes us learn faster. Everyone felt we had a chance to win the game.”

The Bobcats adjusted to the tempo of the game and cut the lead to five points entering the second quarter. The two teams traded scoring runs throughout the game, but BLHS was unable to cut the scoring gap to fewer than six points.

The Bobcats had chances to cut the lead on numerous possessions, but failed to capitalize on them, either missing a shot or turning the ball over.

“We kept it between five and 10 points the rest of the game,” McBride said. “We just couldn’t get over the hump. They were a good team and had three guards that could shoot it. We held our own in the paint, but shooting is what ended up winning them the game.”

Leading by six points with less than two minutes to play, Olathe East sank a pair of 3-pointers to ice the victory.

In a losing effort, the Bobcats featured a balanced scoring attack. Ryan Murphy led the Bobcats with 14 points. Colin Murphy and Richie O’Donnell each scored 11 points. Jake Hattock scored 7 points.

Basehor-Linwood plays at 12:30 p.m. Saturday against the loser of the game between Emporia and Nebraska-Scott high schools.